Class Management

Prerequisites:

Purpose:

To share good ideas, tips and tricks for managing
technology-rich classrooms and engaged learning projects

Lesson:

Very soon you will be engaged in a discussion activity with
the rest of the course participants and instructors. This is a
time to ask questions about how others have used technology in
the classroom . . . and survived!

Read over the following list of questions. Jot down some
notes on your own experiences and any other questions that come
to mind. It would be a great idea to talk about this with some
teaching colleagues at your school. It is usually quite helpful
to talk with other teachers who have used the same equipment,
or had the same students. Perhaps you will be able to chat with
a teacher who has no prior experience with technology in
her classroom. This too is a worthwhile view to consider.

Are you asking all students to use computers at the same
time? (Is that supported by engaged learning?)

What will the other students be doing when some students are
using computers?

How flexible is the physical arrangement of your
classroom?

Can additional laptops be set up? Can more computers be
rolled in on carts?

Do you have enough power sources? Network connections?
Table surfaces or desktops?

How will you make the best use of the resources you have
available?

What activities will need to be done on computers that are
connected to the Internet? What activities could be done on
computers without Internet connections?

What activities could be done with small word
processors/portable keyboards?

What will you expect the students to complete prior to
using a computer? For instance, will they need a "search
plan?"

How will students indicate that they need assistance? Do you
have some sort of indicator that will not disrupt the rest of
the classroom?

What will you need to do to accommodate learners moving
through the project at different rates?

How will you structure your class to provide ongoing
assessment?

How will you provide resources and ask questions that make
students responsible for their learning? (and make you a
co-learner/co-investigator?)

How much group work has your class experienced? What basic
cooperative learning skills need to be taught before expecting
students to work in groups?

If students are not able to use computers in their
classrooms, what will they have to take with them to the
computers? How can this information be organized so that it is
not lost?

Does the technology really enhance the learning, or is it
"one more thing to do" with the topic?

Remember: If you keep the focus of the lesson at the
top of your list, you will be able to evaluate any classroom
management challenge rapidly and take the correct choice of
action.

Fermilab LInC is sponsored by the Fermilab Education Office and the Fermilab Friends for Science Education and supported in part by the Office of High Energy Physics, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, the Illinois State Board of Education and the National Science Foundation. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department, State or Foundation.